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If you’re having trouble creating a direct link to your music on iTunes, you’re not alone.

I was about to launch the pre-sale campaign for my new CD when I decided to check the links just one more time. Imagine my face when I realized that the links that worked on my desktop computer did NOT work on my mobile devices. 😖

Not wanting to make some lame post like “Order my new album by going to iTunes and searching for my name”, I desperately googled solutions. Luckily, I stumbled across this blog post that got me more than halfway there.

The article was great at explaining how and why Apple was now forcing links to open in the music app instead of the store. And, it gave a detailed description of how to find and use the iTunes link maker to create links. But, there was still a problem. It wouldn’t work for me! Arrrg!!!

To create a link, the link maker asks you to search for “popular content” using their search tool. As a pretty much unknown indie artist, I didn’t come up. I searched for my name, my album, one of my songs and…nothing! Mwap mwap.

But, not to worry, the handy-dandy blog post gave me the tools I needed. Thanks to blog poster Kirk McElhearn for including examples with screenshots of the direct links. All I had to do was substitute my details for Taylor Swift’s and I was good to go!

Here are my links. Simply sub in your album name and ID or your artist name and ID and happy linking!

You need to have that question mark after your ID and app=itunes to force open the store app instead of the music app.

How do you find your ID? Simply search for your content on iTunes via your desktop computer’s browser (that’s the only way) and your ID will be in the URL address. I just put “iTunes Laura Marie” into google search to find mine.

Much love,

Laura Marie

P.S. Be sure to share this info with your fellow indie artists. Pay it forward, spread the love!

I know, long time no blog. Well, I’m promoting the new CD, trying to maintain my health and I’m still a mom, wife and responsible dog owner…a lot of bases to cover. Plus, I’m taking some time to catch up on some reading and participate in community events. So, micro-blogging from now on. Here’s the latest:

I recently attended the Austin Music Foundation‘s panel “How to Get Booked at a Festival”. Panelists included the booking powers that be at SXSW, ACL and Lollapalooza. I just wanted to share with you something that everyone on the panel agreed with when asked if there was one thing that would cause festival booking agents to immediately dismiss a band/performer: No social media presence.

Now, there were other things they agreed upon, obvious things like bad music or music not compatible with the festival theme. Rudeness was also mentioned. But, it was very clear that if you were not making a real effort to engage with your fans through social media, none were going to take you seriously. Here this: festival booking agents are expecting you to promote yourself and their festivals if you want them to put you in front of their crowds. They will choose someone who is doing the work to engage fans over someone who does not.

But, please don’t think you can fake it. They are on to those who buy followers. If they don’t see real/organic engagement, they’re going to pass. And, I don’t believe you have to spend 24/7 on social media to have a presence. If you want, you can help build it with legitimate ad campaigns and promoting your pages at shows. Then, take a few minutes a day to engage with those who follow you. You don’t have to overwhelm yourself with it. If your goal is to break into music festivals, it’ll be worth your time. The more you know… 🙂

Next up: This Friday I discuss royalties: How to Get Paid as an Indie Artist – w/ @cindypluggedin at 5PM EST: WVQC. Blog to follow…

Alright, here we go again. I seriously can not imagine a mind that would go to such great lengths to attempt to scam someone. They dangled faith in God and money in front of my nose. Ridiculous. But, for the sake of teaching others how to check these things out using Google search tools, I decided to write this blog.

What: one of those “I’m sick/dying and I need help distributing my large sums of money to the poor” scams.

What to do: Ignore and dismiss their attempts to contact you

For those who want the dirty details and google search tips:

I was first contacted via soundcloud and asked for my email address (which is publicly available) so that she could send me an urgent message about a project.

Then, she contacted me on my Facebook fan page with a fake profile. We had a back and forth conversation. This is what she asked me to do if you care to read it.

Yeah. Ridiculous. Just reading it will tell you it’s a scam. And, she had no info, uploads or identifying pics on her Soundcloud page. But, her FB page had a picture of someone hospitalized which seemed consistent with her story. So, I checked out the pic using Google image search. How? Easy. I learned how to do it on the “What is one cool internet trick you’ve learned?” thread on Reddit.

1) Right click the profile picture of the scammer and save to your desktop

3)Choose the picture from your desktop or drag and drop if you have that option (be sure not to change the name of the photo)

4) Bam! Yeah, fake profile pic.

I know people use other people’s images as their profile pics all the time but, the fact that this person contacted someone they don’t know to distribute millions of dollars, got defensive when I said “no” and had no traceable connections or identity other than a very recent entry on “Apostles International Seminars” website that repeated the same vague info, screams “scammy scam scammer!”!

Oh yeah, also did a search on the bond company. While several entries made it look as if it is a company that actually exists, the fact that it turned up in posts on meetup message boards in spammy ways gives you a hint that it is being used for non legit purposes.

Now, I’m not completely savvy on ways to scam people so, I’m sure there are other details I’m missing. Just hope I can give you an idea of some basics to look out for.

Not to be harsh but, really, this will not net you results. What will? Build real relationships with other musicians you admire. Play gigs with them if your compatible, comparable and on or near the same level in your careers. Or, share ideas. At the very least, get to know them first. Other musicians don’t exist to promote you. Of course, we all appreciate it if you are a musician who likes our music and shares it with your fans. I share the music of musicians I like with my fans because I like them and not because I owe them one for liking my page. That’s not what a fan is. And, trust me, you don’t want fans who are only “fanning” you out of obligation. You want fans who truly admire your work.

So, go ahead. Introduce yourself. Even invite musicians to listen to your work or tell them about your projects. That’s awesome. But, the above…is just silly.

If you recently received a DM message from a record label A&R person asking you to submit your tracks for sync licensing via MCMA.com, you guessed it, scam.

This is the message I received on Twitter:

Thx #FF! If you’re interested in sending me your music or beats for placement consideration please send it through MCMA .com

It came from this account:

So, I checked into it. Signed up on the little free account thing. It looked harmless. I even uploaded a song. (Yeah, I know…stupid. But, the song is available all over the internet so I figured I wasn’t risking a whole lot…hopefully).

For a scam, they didn’t really make it easy. I mean, the site was a b*tch to use. Very tempermental. Alarm bells started going off when I couldn’t get a consistent response from links on the pages. Then, hunting for what it was really going to cost me made me realize I’d almost been had. First the site said, “free trial”, then it said “8/ per month paid annually” then, it said “29.99/month” so you could contact the person who supposedly contacted you. What?

I shudder to think, had they made it easier, they would already have my money.

Who, by the way, had been graciously tweeting to followers about the scam. No telling how many A&R reps they are misrepresenting. And, who knows how long it will be before this site gets shut down. Please, do a good deed and RT this blog or just let other musicians know not to fall for it.

Gotta love it. Just got a spam message from a band. The subject line read: THIS IS NOT SPAM. The content: Check out my this that and the other thing.

No.

No, no, no, no, no.

I wish I could pop your nose with a newspaper.

But, in case no one has explained it to you before, here it is.

The definition of SPAM as it applies to email/internet correspondence:

Any direct and unsolicited self promotive communication.

This includes, but is not limited to, sending emails to people who have not personally opted in or signed up on your email list or inquired about your services (exceptions would be close friends and family who “know you like that”) and posting promotion without permission on someone’s website, message board, fan page, wall, comment box, etc.

Again, I’m not saying “Don’t promote yourself”. We have to and we can’t all afford to buy ad space. I’m just saying, connect with people first. If you’re desperate, even go so far as to ask people to help promote you. But, if you are going to spam people, know this, you will be shunned.

Okay, so, does Sonicbids even bother to screen opportunities anymore? I just got an “opportunity” to pay to play in my inbox. One word: AFTON. If you are a musician who has spent any time promoting yourself via social networks, the name might be familiar. .

Out of morbid curiosity and to confirm my suspicions, I’ve actually talked to one of their reps on the phone. They want to “book you”, have you sell tickets at $10 a pop, (you have to prebuy the tickets to guarantee at least 10 if I remember correctly) but, they can’t tell you who else you will be playing with or in what order you’ll be playing. Um, so, tell your fans to pay $10 bucks to see you who knows when with who knows who. And, you get the grand prize of being able to get a few bucks per ticket sale. Yeah…sure. MEH!

There’s plenty wrong with this deal and unsuspecting indies can certainly get hosed. Another has detailed the problem and I’ll direct you to them if you want to read more. I’ll just say, stay away from pay to play opportunities. You’re better than that. And, if you aren’t, you should be trying harder.

Song-a-week Podcast

New song out for subscribers at lauramarie.bandcamp.com. Told You So. "I told you , 'I believe you, want and need you, lead my heart around..." To hear and download the song of the week, visit my website at lauramariemusic.com

New song out for subscribers at lauramarie.bandcamp.com. Told You So. "I told you , 'I believe you, want and need you, lead my heart around..." To hear and download the song of the week, visit my website at lauramariemusic.com

Acoustic demo for my subscribers at lauramarie.com (lauramarie.bandcamp.com) of I Take It Back, a song about taking your power back. To hear and download the song of the week, visit my website at lauramariemusic.com

New subscriber-only song "Set Me Right" at lauramarie.com . If filters block you go directly to lauramarie.bandcamp.com . I promise it's not an "adult" site. It's fairly family friendly. Maybe some... To hear and download the song of the week, visit my website at lauramariemusic.com

Laura Marie will be returning to the Southwest Regional Folk Alliance on September 30th, 2016 as an official showcasing artist to perform songs from her latest album Stars Apart. Showcases are... To hear and download the song of the week, visit my website at lauramariemusic.com

By Heart, winner of the Music Project Music & Memory Contest, is available here. Or, get it as a subscriber on lauramarie.com along with all the music I make To hear and download the song of the week, visit my website at lauramariemusic.com

If you're having trouble creating a direct link to your music on iTunes, you're not alone. I was about to launch the pre-sale campaign for my new CD when I decided to check the links just one more... To hear and download the song of the week, visit my website at lauramariemusic.com

Sunday, May 22nd, the Laura Marie Trio will be performing at Sam's Burger Joint for the MUSIC Project iPod Drive Concert Fundraiser. As winner of the songwriting contest, Laura Marie will be featured... To hear and download the song of the week, visit my website at lauramariemusic.com

Laura Marie is the winner of the "Music's Impact on Memory" Songwriting Contest with her song "By Heart". She received a cash prize and will be performing her song at a Music Project Event on May... To hear and download the song of the week, visit my website at lauramariemusic.com

Up next: Liberty Bar Tuesday Night Music Series. I'll be hosting the first two weeks of February and my first guest is sweet songbird Amy Lum-Francis. To hear and download the song of the week, visit my website at lauramariemusic.com